The puppies were 5 weeks old this past Saturday. We now only have two left. A male and a female. All the others passed away.
The mommy ended up getting mastitis and passed infection to her babies. These two are the only ones that survived it. Mommy is doing ok. She’s not over it yet but seems to be coming along fine.
It’s a very sad thing. We started with eleven new babies and are down to two. I held each one as they took their last breath. That’s hard to do. My heart is broken.
I started life having health problems. My parents said from the time I was born I was at the hospital every week. I stayed sick. When I was 5 I landed in Children’s Hospital in Columbus Ohio with pneumonia for a 3 week stay which I literally almost died from. I also received a diagnosis of asthma which they said I probably had been born with.
During my grade school years I was diagnosed with many allergies and had to get 2 shots a week to keep them under control. I couldn’t have carpet in my bedroom. My mattress had to be wrapped in plastic and I had to sleep on down pillows or have them wrapped too. Any stuffed animal I had had to be in a plastic bag as well. I wasn’t supposed to be around any animals which was the worst for me because I’m an animal lover. I couldn’t go without my pets though.
By the time I was 9 I was diagnosed with scoliosis and loradosis of my back and was supposed to have a brace. I never got one because we were poor and insurance wouldn’t cover it. I’ve struggled with back pain my whole life.
My asthma left as I got into my teen years but came back full force during my second pregnancy. I’ll never forget I was walking down some railroad tracks to go fishing. All of sudden I thought my water broke. I was only about 5 or 6 months so I was terrified I was gonna lose my baby. By the time I got back to civilization and could get medical care I couldn’t breathe and I was turning blue. I was at the hospital a few days and there it was… asthma. Ugh! I was able to get it for the most part controlled for a few years.
In my early to mid 20s I started having problems again. Well this time I was diagnosed with sarcoidosis on top of the asthma. There wasn’t much known about it then and at first they said I had lung cancer. Thank God they were wrong. So now I have 2 lung diseases and I’m not even 30 years old yet.
Fast forward a few years and here’s another smack in the face. In my early 30s I was diagnosed with COPD. As if 2 problems with my lungs wasn’t enough. There are other health issues diagnosed during this time but I may go into that in a later post.
And now several years later in my late 40s add emphysema on top of the other 3 and that COPD has moved to stage 2. None of these has a cure and none will get any better. My lungs are in the state of 60+ year old.
I have inhalers I take regularly and ones for emergencies plus I have a nebulizer machine at home. The next thing that will be added is oxygen. I’m not giving up though. I’ll fight it until it takes me out. I have too much to live for. My babies. My grandbabies. My mom and sisters. And my hubby. Plus all my furbabies.
I have to keep pushing on and making myself do things everyday to try to strengthen my lungs and at least keep them where they are now if at all possible without getting any worse too soon. If I have my way I’ll still be pushing when I’m 100 years old. Yes I may have to take more breaks than most and yes it’s very hard and painful. But I’m still here and still breathing.
Don’t ever give up and use your health as an excuse that you can’t do things. Improvise to make things you want to do fit in with what you can do. If people can’t accept that then you don’t need them in your life anyway.
I have days that I can barely get out of bed or off the couch. It’s not because I’m lazy like some would say. I have animals that I take care of and I grow a garden during summer months and can my vegetables. Yes I have to have help. That’s not a bad thing. Point is never give up and always trust the Almighty upstairs. He’ll see you through.
The puppies are here. They came early and two were stillborn. Two more passed away only 2 days old. Those two were very small. In total she had 11 and we have 7 left doing good. There are 3 boys and 4 girls.
They all came out mostly blue in color with some white spots. She did have 1 white one though with a little blue on it. It’s a boy and we’re going to keep that one.
The momma needed a lot of help the first couple of days as she didn’t have much milk and with it being her first litter she didn’t know what to do. After they were all born she put them in a pile in front of her and just laid there staring at them. It was funny. She’s got more milk now and is taking care of them awesomely.
We will be having puppies soon. The blue nose pitbull is definitely pregnant with her first and only litter. As much as we love puppies neither of us feel that we want to deal with that again after this set. Unless our minds change.
She should have approximately two or three weeks left before giving birth. Poor girl has gotten so big and lazy and always ready for a belly rub. So far I have felt them moving around but have not visually saw them yet.
We have her birthing area setup in the back part of the house so she can have her own space to deliver and raise the little darlings in peace separated from all the other furbabies.
Christmas Eve is here bringing memories of past years. The ones from my childhood aren’t necessarily from Christmas itself but just of this time of year but actually not many of those. A lot of my growing years is buried somewhere in my head.
My children are the main source of Christmas memories. The joy on their face with each gift that was placed under the tree. The way they’d melt to the smells of Christmas dinner and desserts being fixed. The smiles, excitement, anxiousness for the day and time to come to rip open gifts.
Their playing with, laughing at, and sharing what they received. Bouncing from one thing to another not sure what to do or play with first. Trying to play with everything at once. I wish they’d have lasted longer. Not just Christmas but everyday.
Now they have children of their own and getting to experience the joy of holidays. Those smiles and excitement on little ones faces. To cherish and carry those memories forever.
We live to far away from everyone in our families now so it’s just me and hubby. I lightly decorate these days. For our dinner we’ve settled on homemade deep dish meat pizza, garlic cheese bread sticks, and a chef salad and pepsi to drink.
Our day will be spent playing with the furbabies, watching TV, and enjoying the snow. Nothing really different than an ordinary day for us except that I’m also making cake and some cookies to celebrate the birth of Christ. The reason for the season.
Merry Christmas! Hoping you have a happy, blessed day wherever and however you’re spending it. Be safe and remember the covid precautions.
We had the first snow of winter last week. It was beautiful. A whopping five inches to start the season off.
The goats didn’t leave the barn for two days. They’re not a big fan of snow. All of them were content inside munching on hay all day and taking naps between snacks. So far that’s the longest they’ve spent time inside not even poking their heads out.
The two elder dogs didn’t hardly want to go out the door. Once outside though they began to run and play even if only for a few minutes. You could see their inner pup trying to come out. On the other hand the three youngest ones couldn’t wait to get out the door and didn’t want to come back in.
As for me, I love snow. I find it absolutely beautiful. My getting old bones can’t take the cold as easy as they used to though. But on a farm there is still chores that need taken care of no matter the weather. There’s always something that you winterize that messes up or that you had just forgot to do while prepping for the upcoming weather.
On top of this mountain there is always a wind blowing of at least 10 to 15mph with gusts up to 50mph. It’s awesome in the summer but frigid in the winter. It might be 25° but with the wind chill it feels like the teens. You brave the outdoors dressed to the max, walking like a penguin. Bending over and not falling on your face is an achievement. You do what you have to do. The prize when you come back in is a hot cup of cocoa or coffee to warm yourself up.
With the cold of winter each year all the dogs come inside the house until spring. The two oldest ones stay upstairs and get the comfort of sleeping on the couch. They’re both close to 9 years old and spend most of their time sleeping or eating. You almost have to drag them outside to potty because their old bones just can’t take the cold. In less than five minutes outside time is done for a few hours. They come in and one gets on the couch and the other gets in his blanket and they go back to sleep.
We have kennels setup downstairs for the three youngest ones. The biggest part of their days are spent playing and barking at everything they hear or see going on outside. Outside time with them is a whole different story. The cold doesn’t bother them as quickly and they love to run and play in the snow. I try to limit their outdoor time to 30 minutes. Normally I’m almost dragging them back inside though. Once back inside they resume their playtime and eventually take a nap.
All of them have food and water available 24/7. It lasts much longer in winter than in summer. For the five of them we average about 150-200 pounds of dog food per month. They range in weight from 60 to 100 pounds. They’re all pretty big.
Shots for all of them are due during the summer months and I administer those myself which I buy from tractor supply and are called 10 way. The exception is rabies that the vet has to give every three years. The 10 way I give is very easy. You just mix the liquid into the powder and give it a shake. Then draw the med into the syringe and pull their skin up at the back of their neck and give the shot. All done and time for a treat.
We spoil them all. They are truly our babies. They have stockings hung at Christmas and get a big treat on their birthdays.
Living and Loving Life 